Program Specialist - Disbursements

This position helps advance Green River College’s equity‑centered missions by delivering student financial aid advising to prospective and currently enrolled students and their families, with a focus on advancing access to marginalized communities. Under the direction of the Assistant Director of Student Financial Aid, the incumbent provides expertise in program guidance and support for identified student populations, ensuring students have the best opportunity to achieve their educational goals.

To promote equitable student access and success, the incumbent works with students to make financial aid processes transparent, dismantles barriers to accessibility—particularly those impacting students of color and other marginalized groups—and provides information or referrals for additional funding sources while performing related administrative tasks.

• Understanding of the historical barriers for students (Black/African American, Indigenous, Latinx and Pacific Islander) and commitment to student success; an equity lens is applied to:
  • Analyzing incoming financial aid applications and documentation for eligibility based on applicable federal, state, and institutional regulations.
  • Independently advising students and parents regarding federal, state, and institutional financial aid application process and program criteria.
  • Reading, interpreting, and implementing institutional, state, and federal regulations.
  • Determining eligibility and awarding financial aid based on policies and regulatory requirements while adhering to internal awarding policies and compliance regulations.
  • Evaluating satisfactory academic progress and assisting with academic appeal process.
  • Completing special projects as assigned by director and assistant director.
• Evaluating student data in multiple database systems, such as cashiering, financial aid, registration, and government databases; analyzing data for reasonableness and consistency with other information, contacting outside parties or students when necessary for clarification, determining how this affects student eligibility, adjusting the aid package and notifying students of changes.

• Working closely with other disbursement team members and departments to ensure the disbursement timeline is met and the process is completed with agreed‑upon frequency; running appropriate reports and queries to resolve disbursement errors.
• Adjusting and canceling aid based on student enrollment level as needed throughout each term; notifying students as appropriate to resolve issues and keep students informed of their aid status; working closely with awarders regarding conflicts in aid.
• Acting as primary contact for third‑party funding sources such as state and federal Department of Labor & Industries (L & I), Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). Setting up student bookstore accounts and creating cost estimates in accordance with FERPA requirements; coordinating with Student Financials to resolve conflicts with third‑party agencies.
• Acting as primary contact for tribal funding sources; providing needed support for indigenous and tribal‑affiliated students in cooperation with the Indigenous Student Success Center; completing Financial Need Analysis needed for students to receive tribal scholarships, in accordance with FERPA requirements.
• Overseeing department purchasing card and reconciling transactions monthly; supporting ordering of needed office supplies.
• Acting as primary contact for consortium agreements; working with students to receive necessary documents and verification of eligibility; communicating with other institutions to coordinate processing of agreements; confirming completion and continued eligibility for aid after term ends.
• Supporting initial review of incoming files to determine eligibility and preparing for awarding; participating in review and processing of Satisfactory Academic Progress appeals.

• Providing direct customer service through various formats including virtual, email, phone, and in‑person, with excellent customer service skills focused on bringing racial…